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Quality of service
1.0 out of 5 rating
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Response time
1.0 out of 5 rating
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Professionalism
1.0 out of 5 rating
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Value
1.0 out of 5 rating
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Flexibility
1.0 out of 5 rating
Sadly, Unreliable
Short Version
My fiancé and I booked a wedding/engagement package with VanDeale and Russel, and paid for it in its entirety upon booking. Shawn was to be our lead photographer and we were to meet him on Nov. 13th to have our engagement shoot. This never happened as Shawn cancelled three hours before we were scheduled to meet. He did so via an extremely informal email though cited he was being tested for Covid and would not have the results for three days. We were initially concerned for his health but learned he was still active on social media and that he shot another wedding the next day. I emailed him to express my concern but did not hear back. It has been exactly two months since he cancelled our shoot and we have only heard from Shawn once, despite numerous emails on our part. In his one email, he admitted fault but still offered to shoot our wedding, which we declined. We offered to work with Clint (his partner) instead but he was unavailable for our wedding so we requested a refund. We have heard nothing in the month since, and with our wedding next month, we now must pursue legal action to try to recover the thousands of dollars paid to VanDeale and Russel. While his work is lovely, we have lost all trust in Shawn as a professional.
Long Version
My fiancé and I booked VanDeale and Russell as our wedding photographers for our Feb. 2021 Wedding in January of last year. We selected one of their larger packages which included two photographers, 11 hours of coverage, and an engagement shoot, all of which was PAID IN FULL upon booking. Shawn was to be our lead photographer and was prompt in answering all questions during the booking process.
As time passed into the Fall of 2020 and I had received no communication from Shawn regarding our engagement shoot, I decided to send him an email. He let me know that he forgot to prompt my profile for the engagement questionnaire so he forwarded that to me and I filled it out immediately. As my fiancé works in Toronto, we asked for a weekend shoot if possible and Shawn offered us some dates in November as those were the only weekends he had free. As we were hoping for a fall engagement shoot, I quickly replied asking which October weeknights he was free instead (my fiancé would take time off work) but that is when Shawn’s communication became a bit delayed, taking upwards of 10 days to reply to emails. Collectively, we could not make an October date work so we settled on having the shoot on Nov. 13th.
As our shoot was scheduled for a Friday, my fiancé had to take the day off work. We had both prepared prior, and having never been professionally shot in out 11 years of dating, we were really excited. The shoot was scheduled for 3:00 pm but at 11:30 that day, Shawn sent us an extremely informal email cancelling our shoot. He said that he had left his shoot the night prior not feeling well, so he had decided to go get a Covid test and would not have the results for three days. While we were frustrated about the last minute communication (despite not being well the night before) with no alternate options even explored, we were understanding given the current climate with Coronavirus. Shawn did reach out to us the next morning, explaining why there was no alternate photographer available and reiterating that he was “*VERY*VERY* sick”, offering us a day the next week. We promptly responded wishing him a speedy recovery and hoping the best for him, but let him know that the day offered would not work for us and we would need to come up with another date. That is when it all fell apart.
After not hearing back for a few days regarding the reschedule, I learned that Shawn had shot a wedding the day after cancelling on us, despite still waiting on his Covid results; He posted the photos on his professional social media, and selfies of himself at the venue on his personal account. He was also actively online the day he cancelled on us so upon seeing this, I was extremely disheartened.
On Nov. 17th, I sent both Shawn and Clint a heartfelt email, citing my hurt and frustration with the situation. I tried to be reasonable and genuine, and shared that I felt with our payment already received, it seemed like we were not valued. I also expressed that upon receiving his email, I was also genuinely concerned about Shawn’s health given the severity of Covid19, so to see that he either lied or disregarded the regulations was very disappointing.
Shawn did not reply to this email for over a month. We followed up weekly and heard from Clint in early December, letting us know he was trying to get a hold of Shawn as well. We eventually had to threaten legal action, but on Dec. 18th, Shawn replied. In his email, he took responsibility and let us know he understood if we no longer had interest in him photographing our wedding, though offered to still do it. We immediately replied and let him know that unfortunately we had lost trust in him but would be willing to work with Clint, trying to keep our booking with their business. Clint promptly let us know he was not available on our wedding date so at that point, we asked to terminate our agreement and receive a refund in full.
From that last email in December, we have still not heard from Shawn and it is now January 13th (two months after we were supposed to have an engagement shoot). We have tried to be reasonable and have not even asked for an immediate return of our payment, but just a timeline in which we can expect our funds to be received. Still, we have heard nothing back and now must pursue legal action in order to recover the thousands of dollars we have already paid. We did not have an engagement shoot, no photographer for our wedding next month (we hope to at least try to do a city hall wedding if possible) and no idea if we will ever see the money we paid VanDeale and Russell.
Unfortunately, despite his work being absolutely beautiful, Shawn is unreliable and if you go far back on his past reviews, this has happened before. I am not normally one to post a review, but I would hate for what happened to us to happen to another couple. We wish Shawn all the best and hope he can get back on track soon.
Short Version
My fiancé and I booked a wedding/engagement package with VanDeale and Russel, and paid for it in its entirety upon booking. Shawn was to be our lead photographer and we were to meet him on Nov. 13th to have our engagement shoot. This never happened as Shawn cancelled three hours before we were scheduled to meet. He did so via an extremely informal email though cited he was being tested for Covid and would not have the results for three days. We were initially concerned for his health but learned he was still active on social media and that he shot another wedding the next day. I emailed him to express my concern but did not hear back. It has been exactly two months since he cancelled our shoot and we have only heard from Shawn once, despite numerous emails on our part. In his one email, he admitted fault but still offered to shoot our wedding, which we declined. We offered to work with Clint (his partner) instead but he was unavailable for our wedding so we requested a refund. We have heard nothing in the month since, and with our wedding next month, we now must pursue legal action to try to recover the thousands of dollars paid to VanDeale and Russel. While his work is lovely, we have lost all trust in Shawn as a professional.
Long Version
My fiancé and I booked VanDeale and Russell as our wedding photographers for our Feb. 2021 Wedding in January of last year. We selected one of their larger packages which included two photographers, 11 hours of coverage, and an engagement shoot, all of which was PAID IN FULL upon booking. Shawn was to be our lead photographer and was prompt in answering all questions during the booking process.
As time passed into the Fall of 2020 and I had received no communication from Shawn regarding our engagement shoot, I decided to send him an email. He let me know that he forgot to prompt my profile for the engagement questionnaire so he forwarded that to me and I filled it out immediately. As my fiancé works in Toronto, we asked for a weekend shoot if possible and Shawn offered us some dates in November as those were the only weekends he had free. As we were hoping for a fall engagement shoot, I quickly replied asking which October weeknights he was free instead (my fiancé would take time off work) but that is when Shawn’s communication became a bit delayed, taking upwards of 10 days to reply to emails. Collectively, we could not make an October date work so we settled on having the shoot on Nov. 13th.
As our shoot was scheduled for a Friday, my fiancé had to take the day off work. We had both prepared prior, and having never been professionally shot in out 11 years of dating, we were really excited. The shoot was scheduled for 3:00 pm but at 11:30 that day, Shawn sent us an extremely informal email cancelling our shoot. He said that he had left his shoot the night prior not feeling well, so he had decided to go get a Covid test and would not have the results for three days. While we were frustrated about the last minute communication (despite not being well the night before) with no alternate options even explored, we were understanding given the current climate with Coronavirus. Shawn did reach out to us the next morning, explaining why there was no alternate photographer available and reiterating that he was “*VERY*VERY* sick”, offering us a day the next week. We promptly responded wishing him a speedy recovery and hoping the best for him, but let him know that the day offered would not work for us and we would need to come up with another date. That is when it all fell apart.
After not hearing back for a few days regarding the reschedule, I learned that Shawn had shot a wedding the day after cancelling on us, despite still waiting on his Covid results; He posted the photos on his professional social media, and selfies of himself at the venue on his personal account. He was also actively online the day he cancelled on us so upon seeing this, I was extremely disheartened.
On Nov. 17th, I sent both Shawn and Clint a heartfelt email, citing my hurt and frustration with the situation. I tried to be reasonable and genuine, and shared that I felt with our payment already received, it seemed like we were not valued. I also expressed that upon receiving his email, I was also genuinely concerned about Shawn’s health given the severity of Covid19, so to see that he either lied or disregarded the regulations was very disappointing.
Shawn did not reply to this email for over a month. We followed up weekly and heard from Clint in early December, letting us know he was trying to get a hold of Shawn as well. We eventually had to threaten legal action, but on Dec. 18th, Shawn replied. In his email, he took responsibility and let us know he understood if we no longer had interest in him photographing our wedding, though offered to still do it. We immediately replied and let him know that unfortunately we had lost trust in him but would be willing to work with Clint, trying to keep our booking with their business. Clint promptly let us know he was not available on our wedding date so at that point, we asked to terminate our agreement and receive a refund in full.
From that last email in December, we have still not heard from Shawn and it is now January 13th (two months after we were supposed to have an engagement shoot). We have tried to be reasonable and have not even asked for an immediate return of our payment, but just a timeline in which we can expect our funds to be received. Still, we have heard nothing back and now must pursue legal action in order to recover the thousands of dollars we have already paid. We did not have an engagement shoot, no photographer for our wedding next month (we hope to at least try to do a city hall wedding if possible) and no idea if we will ever see the money we paid VanDeale and Russell.
Unfortunately, despite his work being absolutely beautiful, Shawn is unreliable and if you go far back on his past reviews, this has happened before. I am not normally one to post a review, but I would hate for what happened to us to happen to another couple. We wish Shawn all the best and hope he can get back on track soon.
